30 allowances, grants, deductions and protections make up the UN common-system package. Many are set centrally by the ICSC and apply the same everywhere; others differ by organization — each tile says which. Select a contract type — held or offered — and the table shows what it confers. Tap any tile for the detail, or read the full matrix below.
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The complete matrix, in one place. Every entitlement above, scored against all 7 contract types; what each contract is is set out on contract fingerprints.
| Benefit | CA | FTA | TA | IPSA | IICA | UNV | IC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | |||||||
| Post adjustment — A cost-of-living multiplier applied to net base salary, set per duty station so that purchasing power is equivalent everywhere. % of net base salary. Classified by ICSC; the exchange-rate element is revised monthly at hard-currency stations, and the cost-of-living element on a 5% index movement or every 12 months. (ICSC) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — |
| Rental subsidy — A subsidy where rent takes an unreasonably high share of net remuneration, for internationally recruited staff newly arrived at a duty station. Percentage of the rent above a threshold share of net remuneration. Tapers over time. (ICSC (rental-subsidy scheme)) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | — | — | — | — |
| Family | |||||||
| Dependent spouse allowance — Paid where the staff member has a recognized dependent spouse. Replaced the old dependency-rate salary scale when the unified scale came in. 6% of net remuneration (Professional and above). (ICSC) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | — | ◐ | — | — |
| Child allowance — A fixed annual amount per recognized dependent child. Flat USD amount per child, per year (≈$2,929 for Professional and above; the amount is doubled for a child with a disability). (ICSC) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | — | — | — | — |
| Single parent allowance — Paid in lieu of the child allowance for the first dependent child, where the staff member is a single parent providing main and continuous support. 6% of net remuneration for the first child. (ICSC) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | — | — | — | — |
| Education grant — Reimbursement of admissible education costs for dependent children, on a global sliding scale, plus a boarding lump sum where applicable. Sliding scale from 86% down to 61% of admissible costs, up to a ceiling. A separate special education grant reimburses 100% for children with disabilities. (ICSC (GA-approved sliding scale)) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Parental leave — Paid leave for all parents regardless of gender or how they became a parent, with additional leave for birth mothers. 16 weeks for all parents, plus 10 further weeks for birth mothers (26 total). (ICSC parental-leave framework) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ | — |
| Mobility & relocation | |||||||
| Mobility incentive — An incentive for staff who move between duty stations, payable from the second assignment onward. Fixed amount by grade and number of assignments (+25% at the 4th, +50% at the 7th). Requires five years’ prior common-system service; not paid at H (headquarters) locations. (ICSC mobility & hardship scheme) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Assignment / settling-in grant — A lump sum to meet the extraordinary costs of arriving at a new duty station. A DSA portion (≈30 days for the staff member, half-rate per accompanying family member) plus a lump sum of one month of net base salary and, where applicable, post adjustment. (ICSC mobility & hardship scheme) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ | — |
| Relocation shipment — Shipment of personal effects when taking up or changing an international assignment. Lump sum, or entitlement shipment, depending on the organization and length of appointment. (Each organization’s staff rules) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | — | ◐ | — | — |
| Home leave — Paid travel to the country of home leave, for internationally recruited staff. Once every 24 months; every 12 months at the most difficult (category D and E) duty stations. (Common-system standard) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Family visit travel — Travel to visit eligible family members who do not reside at the duty station. Once every 12 or 24 months depending on duty station. (Each organization’s staff rules) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hardship & risk | |||||||
| Hardship allowance — Compensation for living and working conditions at difficult duty stations. Fixed annual amount by duty-station category (B–E) and grade band. Category H and A attract nothing. (ICSC mobility & hardship scheme) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ | — |
| Non-family service allowance — Additional compensation, on top of hardship, where family members cannot be installed at the duty station for security reasons. Flat annual amount by dependency status (about $19,800 with dependants, $7,500 without). (ICSC mobility & hardship scheme) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | ◐ | — | — |
| Danger pay — Paid where very dangerous conditions prevail. Provisional and non-pensionable. Flat monthly rate for international staff (about $1,645); 30% of the local salary-scale midpoint for locally recruited staff. Reviewed every three months. (ICSC) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ | — |
| Rest & recuperation — Paid breaks away from the duty station, with travel, at qualifying locations. Cycle of 6, 8 or 12 weeks depending on the duty station (a 4-week cycle only in very exceptional, specially approved cases). (ICSC R&R framework) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ | — |
| Security & insurance | |||||||
| UNJSPF pension — Participation in the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund. The single largest difference between staff and affiliate personnel. Participant contributes 7.9% of pensionable remuneration; the organization contributes 15.8%. Vesting at 5 years; normal retirement age 65 for those joining from 2014. (UNJSPF Regulations) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | — | — | — |
| Health insurance — Medical and dental cover under a UN-sponsored plan, with a cost-shared premium. For staff, the premium is shared between the participant and the organization. (Each organization’s insurance plan) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Service-incurred compensation — Compensation for death, injury or illness attributable to service — long known in the UN Secretariat as “Appendix D”. Statutory scheme under each organization’s staff rules. (Each organization’s staff rules) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ | — |
| Malicious acts insurance — Cover for death or disability arising from a malicious act, at designated locations. System-funded group policy; the benefit is generally the lesser of about $500,000 or 10× net annual salary. (UN system-wide MAIP policy) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ |
| After-service health insurance — Continued medical cover into retirement, subject to a qualifying period of contributory service. Requires a minimum period of participation in a UN health plan, continued without interruption into retirement. (Each organization’s ASHI plan) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| On separation | |||||||
| Repatriation grant — A payment on separation for expatriate staff relocating away from the last duty station. Not paid on summary dismissal. Scaled to years of qualifying expatriate service (from 5 years) and dependency status. Paid only on actual relocation outside the duty-station country. (Common-system standard (GA scale)) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Termination indemnity — Payable where the organization terminates an appointment before its expiry — not where a fixed-term contract simply expires. Scaled to completed years of service and appointment type. (Common-system standard (GA scale)) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | — | ◐ | — | — |
| Annual leave commutation — Payment for accrued, unused annual leave on separation. Up to 60 days for staff on fixed-term or continuing appointments; temporary-appointment holders are capped at 18 days. (Common-system standard) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ | — | — |
| Death grant — A payment to surviving family members on the death of a staff member in service. Months of pay scaled to years of service and dependency status. (Common-system standard (GA scale)) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | — | — | ◐ | — |
| Pay mechanics | |||||||
| Staff assessment — An internal deduction that stands in place of national income tax. Gross salary minus staff assessment gives net base salary. Applied to gross salary. Not a benefit — a mechanism. (Common-system standard (ICSC scale)) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — |
| Step increment — Progression within a grade for satisfactory service. For P-1 to P-5, annual to step VII then biennial; at D-1, annual to step IV then biennial; at D-2, biennial throughout. (Common-system standard (ICSC scale)) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | — | — | — |
| Special post allowance — A supplement for temporarily carrying out the duties of a higher-graded post. The difference to the higher grade, after a qualifying period (commonly three months; immediate in specified exceptional cases). (Each organization’s staff rules) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | — | — | — | — |
| Language allowance — For General Service and related staff who pass a proficiency examination in an additional official language. Fixed pensionable amount; a further allowance at half the rate for a third official language. (Each organization’s staff rules (ICSC rate)) | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | — | — | — | — |
| Overtime & night differential — Compensation for work beyond the working week, and for night work — General Service and related categories. Compensatory time off or additional payment. (Each organization’s staff rules) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — |
✓ Entitled · ◐ Limited / conditional · — Not entitled.
Entitlements vary by organization, duty station and the terms of the individual offer — affiliate personnel most of all. This is a plain-language summary of published policy, not official entitlement advice; where this table and an organization's official policy differ, the official policy prevails.